About the First-Year Experience
At Skidmore, we believe in the transformative power of liberal education—more precisely,
in the power of an educational experience that combines curricular and co-curricular
opportunities to liberate the mind and nurture the soul.
The first-year program is designed to get you started on that journey. Its hallmark
is the Scribner Seminar, a small, intense course in which you work closely with a
Skidmore faculty member who will also serve as your advisor. First-year students
select a Scribner Seminar from approximately 45 different offerings, exploring fascinating
interdisciplinary topics such as American Buddhism or Sport, Self, & Society. All
seminars are designed to stimulate intellectual curiosity, challenge preconceived
notions, and provide a solid foundation for continued study at Skidmore.
The FYE also includes the Peer Mentor program, linking the first-year students to an older student who will assist them in their social and academic transition to college life. And then there's the Summer Reading, which immerses all seminars in provocative debate about a shared text that has been carefully chosen to invite multiple perspectives and cross-disciplinary analysis.
In short, Skidmore's First-Year Experience aims to cultivate each student as a whole
person. In the grand tradition of liberal education, we hope that students emerge
from the first year, and eventually from the College, as engaged, thoughtful, and
capable citizens of the world.
Janet Casey
Director, First Year Experience
Professor of English